


Revelation!

by kirogaraii



Series: A Bitter Sweet World : ShuuKazu [11]
Category: Hatoful Kareshi | Hatoful Boyfriend
Genre: (...god damn i actually dont know how to tag this), (nothing crazy happens. plot plot. new character. news. no specific angst or anything), BitterSweet AU : ShuuKazu, Developing Friendships, Gen, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:30:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25320154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirogaraii/pseuds/kirogaraii
Summary: The most thrilling part of being a teacher-- staff meetings!Mister Ichijou introduces several new plans for the future of St. Pigeonation's, a totally-new-and-not-familiar-whatsoever-totally face appears in the room, and Kazuaki gets the best news he heard all year! What a good day!Time for a shorter chapter. The last ones have been really really long, so here's something more relaxed.Since we've shown the perspective from outsider students, now we have a little glimpse into the world of St. Pigenation's teachers.
Relationships: Nanaki Kazuaki & Uzune Hitori, Nanaki Kazuaki (Original) & Nishikikouji Tohri
Series: A Bitter Sweet World : ShuuKazu [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1623460
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Revelation!

St. Pigeonation’s is not the largest academy in the world by all means, but it hosts enough classrooms, enough possibilities and enough directions for it to require more than a puny dozen teachers and workers. It is therefore rare for the staff room to only host four or five birds in it at a time… But, it is also rare for it to be completely and entirely full, with almost every single  _ birdsonnel _ present.

Today is an important day. Each month, around the middle of it, a staff meeting is hosted. Homeroom teachers, English teachers, Mathematics teachers, Chemistry teachers, History teachers, the one Gym teacher, part-time teachers and full-time teachers, teachers of all colors and species meet in this room to discuss important things and plans for this glorious school’s future.

The room is already full. Some of the adults are chatting and pouring coffee and tea, some are prepping up documents and unfolding laptops on their desks.

And these are the moments where Kazuaki Nanaki realizes how terrified he is of living in a society, for the lack of a better word. He knows the names and faces of most of these people, but he’s never really talked to them, mostly, because they teach the classes upstairs. And up until now, in his 6 months of employment, it has been Hitori that held his his wing through it all and reassured him that there’s no need to feel anxious. Those phrases like ‘It’s okay, no one’s staring at you’ and ‘You don’t have to worry’ don’t do much when you have social anxiety in particular, but at least his presence made Kazuaki feel like he’s not completely alone.

Hitori is next to him.

He is, yes. But there is no longer that bond between them. They are still ‘friends’, aren’t they? But they haven’t had any conversation in weeks beside passing by, exchanging a ‘How are you?’ ‘I’m fine, thanks’ and moving on.

“S-So, um…” Kazuaki spoke so quietly and softly that it was barely audible through the murmur of other, much more charismatic birds in the room. Hitori glanced his way, though. “Do you know what will be talked about today?”

“You sure would benefit from reading instructions every once in a while before asking questions.” Hitori seemed to be in a particularly shitty mood.

“Wah! But I did! I did! We got a letter three days ago s-saying that this meeting will take place, but then there were a lot of complicated words, and I forgot the letter at home, and…”

Hitori was close to making another snarky comment, but he exhaled, and leaned closer to whisper to Kazuaki. “The letter from Mister Ichijou highlighted that we will talk about school events before the summer break, the topic of race and species in the school, and the employment of new faces. Something like that. And of course, everyone is free to ask and bring forth topics during the meeting.”

“Ohh…” Kazuaki hummed, “Well, with vague information like that, it’s not like we can really prepare anything, huh~… Did you prepare to talk about anything?”

“Mhm.” Hitori flipped through a journal that he placed on his desk, “I do have something to mention. You’ll see what it is.”

“Ah, how mysterious…”

“Naaaame shields!” a very sudden and new voice alarmed both of the quails. They looked up to see a member of the corvid family—an eurasian jay, also known as an acorn jay—a brunet with big round glasses and a confident aura, hugging several signs in his hand and placing one on each desk in the staff room. “Nanaki Kazuaki, and,” he placed one on Hitori’s desk as well, “Uzune Hitori. Good afternoon! This is the correct writing of your name, right, professor?”

Hitori looked at the shield he received, “Yes, it is.”

“Whew okay! Don’t mind me then.” the jay sung and slid past to the other rows of desks.

“The meeting will start in a minute. Maybe you should prepare to make notes too.” Hitori returned to Kazuaki.

“Oh, yes, m-maybe so…” Kazuaki’s desk was as much of a mess as his thoughts. He frantically shoved things aside—Hitori wrinkled his forehead at the sight—but quickly found a pen and a journal that he hopefully won’t forget the existence of after this meeting is over.

“Hey, Hitori…” he began again, looking anxious.

“What is it?”

“…Ca…Can we talk after th-”

The school bell played its usual tune, and near simultaneously, a nicobar pigeon entered the room with a calm smile on his features. Kazuaki got so startled that he was sure he visibly jumped in his seat, but just like everyone else, he glared at the headmaster taking a slow walk to the front of the room.

“Good morning, everyone!” Greeted Mino.

Various kinds of “Good morning sir, good morning, hello, howdy, and otsukaresama”s echoed through the room in return.

“Yup yup, I hope everyone is feeling well. This shouldn’t be too long of a meeting.” The nicobar—a middle aged man with long dark blue hair, alongside a sleek and professional vibe—stood in the front of the room. He placed a few more posters on the easel there. For a second, Kazuaki spotted visualizations of graphs. Those things are scary.

Mino stared at the room full of his employees, and his employees stared back in silence. A stiff and quiet atmosphere filled the room. “N-No need to be so nervous, you guys! …But, I suppose some of you already have an idea of what I’ve been intending to present here today. And if you have questions, raise your hand, of course. But generally, it’s fine to just shout into the room. This isn’t a classroom after all~”

Sometimes the headmaster seems so laid back and down to earth, that many birds wonder if he’s an imposter, and the real St. Pigeonation’s headmaster is held hostage in the basement, or something like that. “Let’s start with the topic of budgets first!”

Mino began to explain in a standard manner. After a few minutes, the stiff atmosphere seemed to die out, as more birds contributed to the convo and had no problem chuckling along when a joke slipped by. Kazuaki couldn’t help but have a tense expression the whole time though, pressing his lips into a pale line. None of the things discussed so far seemed to be related to him and his classroom, so he supposed he doesn’t have to focus as intensely as someone else.

Hitori was way more charismatic. Not only did he contribute and nod along at the right moments, but he looked dashing while doing so as well… On the bright side, maybe the shoujo manga bubbles floating around him every time he spoke, distracted other birds from glancing at Kazuaki and seeing how sweaty he is.

“As you all know,” the topic moved along swiftly, Mino flipped another page of his presentation of bullet points, “The semester is ending soon, and we’ve already established that beside the wonderful Sports Festival, we will also host class hikes, and class trips for the students. Professor Nanaki!”

“Wah—!” Kazuaki did not expect his name to be called, “Y-Yes?!”

“You said in our previous meeting that your students chose the Kachoen Park in Kobe for the class expedition, yeah… You’ve done a preliminary inspection of the place earlier this week, right?” Mino asked, “With doctor Iwamine.”

“Ah, yes, we did. Everything went smoothly. Iwamine-k… Iwamine-sensei and I figured a plan for the day. I brought it along. I should give it to you, right?” Kazuaki reached in his bag nervously.

“Yes, that’d be appreciated!” Mino walked up to the quail’s desk and waited until Kazuaki handed him the sleek folder. “Thank you.”

“Iwamine wrote all the important things very well. We even know the name of the bird that will guide us around the park, and the recommended clothes for the students, and all that~”

“Yup, doctor Iwamine is very specific, bless his heart.” Mino is probably the only bird who could say something like that about the doctor.

The topic of the Sports Festival came along. This turned into something a lot more exciting, as the teachers discussed who will be stationed where, and what resources are to be provided. Kazuaki noticed however, that it is Hitori who waited for his opportunity to pose a question with a very serious expression. His chance finally came.

“Yes, professor Uzune?”

“I wanted to ask a question about  _ this… _ ” Kazuaki watched him pull out a neatly folded page from a newspaper onto his desk. “I read on multiple sources that right around the time of the Sports Festival, a heatwave is predicted to arrive right in Littledove Hachiman City. Apparently a middle school in the area decided to cancel school for the day altogether to avoid risk of injury.” he maintained focused eye contact with the principal, “Isn’t a Sports Festival in the outdoors a risky idea? If students get heat stroke from working around in the sun, that’ll be a problem. I don’t doubt that the Cafeteria Club prepares enough cold snacks and drinks for the students, and that the Infirmary Club is supplied with resources for all possible injuries that can come during sports, but I was wondering if everything is, you know…” Hitori searches for the right word, “…Taken into account?”

Mino listened to the quail intensely, and other teachers hummed in understanding as well. “Yes, I read the same thing on the internet today morning.” someone spoke into the room. “Weather shouldn’t be underestimated.” someone else added.

“Yes, yes, that’s a good proposition Uzune. Well, honestly…” Mino scratched the back of his head, “Doctor Iwamine would be  _ very _ useful in a situation like this, but unfortunately he seems to be, um…absent…”

Kazuaki glanced behind himself. Shuu’s assigned spot is right in the row behind him, but anti-climatically, despite the sign with his name on his desk, the spot was empty. Kazuaki frowned again.

“Where  _ is _ the doctor anyway?” A familiar voice from behind chimed in. It was the eurasian jay. He seemed almost as concerned about Shuu’s absence as Kazuaki. “I’ve only been working here for a few months, but I’ve come to notice that Iwamine is pretty much never present in staff meetings, even though he’s practically one of the most important figures of the school.”

“Yeah, well…” Mino mumbled.

“Can we know what’s up with the doctor? Is he sick?” a dove called in as well, “Well, sick physically. We can all guess what’s up with his  _ head _ .” two or three more adults chuckled nervously at the joke, which seemed distasteful in Kazuaki’s eyes. It’s not like it’s any surprising, and it’s not like it’s unreasonable— everyone in school is aware that the doctor is a villainous character. Students unabashedly gossip about him and his unsettling personality, and it didn’t seem to be a problem among adults either. Shuu is disrespectful to almost everyone, so the more courageous birds won’t hesitate to return that energy.

At least, when he’s not present. The partridge is phenomenal at his job, and everyone can agree to respect his intellect on medicine, biology, and pathology. Therefore most of their co-workers will smile and nod along to his unsettling phrases, but gossip and scoff as soon as he is gone.

Perhaps it’s a cultural phenomenon, or perhaps it’s a global thing too, for people to be so two-faced and dishonest. Kazuaki nonetheless felt sad. Shuu is more than what he shows to the world, surely.

“No no, Iwamine isn’t sick or anything. In fact…” Mino began, “he  _ is _ in the school building right now.”

“Eh?”

“What?”

“Why isn’t he here then?!”

“Well, he is incredibly busy with something.” it’s strange how defensive the usually chill principal suddenly became when it came to the doctor, “It’s not that I hold him on a different pedestal compared to everyone else, obviously. But his work differs massively from the rest of us. And let’s just say that… He works for the school with a very specific ‘contract’, which gives him privileges about ‘some things’. He doesn’t miss out on anything that takes place in the staff meeting, of course. He receives updates about the status of things regardless.”

The teachers sighed, some more understanding of the excuse than others. The sentence that the doctor has ‘privileges’ about ‘some things’ sounds just about suspicious to match his aesthetic.

“…Hm, but on the topic that Uzune brought up,” a gruff voice from the far corner of the room, that hasn’t been heard at any point earlier in the meeting, caused several heads to turn. The janitor named One stared at Mino with a stiff pose and a stiff tone, “Does that mean that we won’t have a solution for the problem until the doctor gets a memo about it?”

“Yeah.” Mino nodded, his gaze returning to Hitori, “I’ll send you an update from doctor Iwamine once we have it, as well as to everyone else. It’s not like we’ll just cancel a whole festival because of a heatwave in Japan, after all! We’ve had Sports Festivals in all kinds of weathers up until now too…”

“May I… have the permission to speak, mister Ichijou?”

A catchy voice slipped into the conversation, from a whole another direction. What was that, the wall? No, there was someone else in the room. No one has noticed it until now, but in a corner that nearly paralleled the hidden spot that One was sitting in, there was a mysterious bird.

“Oh! Of course! Would you take this as an opportunity to introduce yourself? I’ve been leading up to the final topic, but it’s no problem if we just get to it now…” Mino gestured with a hand, “Mister Nishikikouji. You can come stand over here if you’d like.”

“That’d be wonderful. Thank you!”

All eyes turned to the mysterious stranger when he stood up from his seat. It was a golden pheasant, male, judging by the radiant and colorful plumage. Everyone curiously watched him walk up to the headmaster, holding a clipboard under his arm.

With a confident and relaxed expression, the bird named Nishikikouji began his introduction with a bow.

“Good day, ladies and gentlebirds. My name, is  _ Nishikikouji Tohri. _ I am a representative of the Golden Weekly anthology, an engineer, an artist, and… from very soon, I will be a part of the St. Pigeonation’s staff here! Perhaps some of you have seen me around the school in the recent times, you see, yes~ I’ve been preparing for my employment here and becoming familiar with the school. Ah, I hope you can pardon me for the sudden introduction!

This topic that professor… Uzune, right? Brought up, it simply felt like a perfect opportunity to speak up, because I actually have a solution for the problem; and it doesn’t require waiting for doctor Iwamine at all~!”

“Huh?”

“Really?”

Numerous impressed birds raised their brows. Kazuaki watched that bird in the front with the same amount of awe as everyone else, except, this man… Who is he? Kazuaki squinted and tilted his head, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. That face, that name… wait, did he say he’s the representative of an anthology?

“Yes! Haha, how ironic, isn’t it? As I’ve mentioned, I am an engineer, and even more specifically; an inventor. I have produced countless innovative devices of various sizes and uses.

And you see, in the recent months, I have developed and produced a device in preparation of this year’s summer specifically.”

Comically, Tohri pulled out a scroll of paper from beneath his spacious cape, and displayed it on the easel. Mino didn’t seem bothered by having his own documents overshadowed. “A portable ‘greenhouse’ which uses latest tech materials, in order to block UV radiation, reduce heat, and dim light eeever so slightly, while still providing enough filtering for the air to remain fresh and pristine.

This was created with the intention of not merely reflecting the sun, but absorbing it. The more scorching heat and UV is sent onto the glass, the stronger the shield becomes.

Of course, this is already a released product, and has been tested under a hundred different conditions to ensure complete safety for the general public. Through chemical reactions and refractions, the radiation is locked within this device without becoming a hazard. The worst that can happen, is that if the device notices an infringement in its filtering systems, it’ll automatically power off. There’d be an obvious and instant change in the brightness of the place that’s being shielded, so I could come and fix the issue instantly, provided I’ll be invited to the Sports Festival, and you’ll use my glorious invention!

Did I mention that it’s portable? Yes! With just a small group of my assistants, it can be set up in the St. Pigeonation’s yard in half an hour, and packed just as quickly.

And it’s name? Ah yes,” he majestically enunciated the words,

“This is the Nishikikouji Masterpiece No. 614, ULTRA VIOLET SHIELD~!”

“WOW!!” more than half of the birds in the room stood up from their chairs to applaud, “No way! Is that really true?!” The professors exclaimed, “And it blocks heat too?!”

“Yes, my good sir! To say that it blocks heat is a bit of an understatement— The amount of heat and light that you want to block is absolutely adaptable and controllable. It can reduce the temperature within our little quarantine by almost 10°C without impacting the brightness.” Tohri gleamed, “And of course, if you enable the ventilation and fanning mechanism, it can get even cooler. As well as, as well as…”

The golden pheasant continued. It seemed like his energy was boundless, and endless, with a dance in every step when he used the front of the room as a stage of sorts. Kazuaki listened to his monologue with as much intensity as everyone else, and as for the engineer lingo that Tohri fell into eventually, Kazuaki understood less and less. Maybe another reason for why he couldn’t really hear Tohri’s voice anymore is because he focused on his face, and on the colors of his plumage.

He paid attention to where Tohri’s gaze was heading every now and then. Every minute, it steered a little to the right. Picking up on the detail, Kazuaki glanced to the right as well. There didn’t seem to be anyone significant sitting on that side of the room. Only two unassuming teachers, and… Mister One? He was staring at Tohri in the front as well. It’d seem that they made direct eye contact every minute, then.

_ ‘…what the hell are you doing…’ _

Kazuaki saw One mouth those words, while staring at the pheasant. He shook his head, knitted his brows.

_ …Did he say “you”? As in, a bit of a relaxed and friendly “you” that’d be used among friends? _

Kazuaki wondered. Without a doubt, One whispered “you”, and the Japanese professor surely would know the differences between all the ways you can say “you” in their language.

_ B-But wait, does that, does that mean that… _

_ Mister One is friends with this guy?!! _

Kazuaki returned his focus to Tohri, who this time, was listening to one of the teachers’ question about his invention’s solar panel system. The quail just couldn’t shake the feeling that he  _ knew _ Tohri as well. He knows him from  _ somewhere _ . His face took on a very serious and intense expression.  _ His name and face are flashy, so how could I forget where I saw him? _

The topic moved on eventually, as all things do. Tohri Nishikikouji, having made an incredibly charismatic entrance, returned to his seat looking very pleased. The other teachers continued to sip on mugs of coffee and nibble on biscuits while Mino led up to wrapping up for today.

“Ah yeah, one more thing. This will be inevitably delved into in greater detail in the following months and once summer break kicks off, but for now I am happy to announce that the St. Pigeonation’s academy will open an entirely new land of opportunity for birds worldwide.” It seemed that the man was slowly getting tired, which was reasonable, but he did his best to sound enthusiastic. “For the first time in its history, our school will allow to enroll birds of every species as students!”

Some teachers widened their eyes in disbelief, and some approving sounds of ‘mm?!’ murmured throughout the room.

“Yes, yes. As you know, up until now, non-doves were only permitted to work here in the roles of staff. That itself was a big scandalous change. In the beginning, this was a truly all-dove school. Aren’t we glad that society is progressing past that, dove supremacy? Yes, yes. We will also expand on the building itself a little bit, to fit these new classrooms full of various birds.”

Kazuaki listened to these news intently, Mino continued, “It’ll be called the Colorful Bird Department! There’ll be many colorful birds, after all. Personally, I’m very happy that we’ll finally be able to change the school’s motto to ‘By the bird, for the bird’. I hope you’re all excited from this news as well.”

“That really is excellent news.” Hitori mumbled. Kazuaki and he glanced at one another at the same time without meaning to.

“There’ll be… a lot of, a lot of new birds, right? Students and teachers… Oh, no…”

“Come on Nanaki, there’s no reason to worry yet.”

Kazuaki felt a little strange from being referred by his last name, by him… He decided to remain silent until the end.

Some finishing words, some conclusions, more questions and answers, exchanging of documents, and at last, the school bell rang. That proved to be the conveniently perfect time to finally wrap up the meeting. The headmaster bid his farewells and concluded that if anyone needs him, he’ll be in his office.

The other members of the staff scattered. Not everyone, but some. Everyone has their things to do and missions to settle. But about half of the room was still full with birds that decided to work for a while longer in this pleasant atmosphere.

Before he could head back home, Hitori found that he has to work for at least an hour longer. Grading homework, with a workbook under one hand, a student’s test under the other, and a calculator too, just to be safe. Meanwhile in another corner of the room… Tohri was exchanging politeness with some two teachers that seemed to be very charmed and curious about him. That smug smile just didn’t leave his face no matter what, it seemed.

Kazuaki, meanwhile, had his head on the desk, and typed something on his phone underneath.

Yeah yeah yeah, he’ll get to that work, but that thing was still bugging him and he knew that he won’t get a wink of sleep until he finally realizes what the identity of that gaudy pheasant in the room is.

Golden, Golden, Golden… Tohri said something like that at the beginning of his introduction, and Kazuaki cursed himself because he only remembered half of the word—!

Golden, Golden, Golden… Kazuaki closed his eyes.

He’s in his house… He can see the entrance to his kitchen… He can see the door to the bathroom… He can see his room. He thinks really hard about what could be inside his room with that word on it. There’s the futon, there’s the pajamas in the corner of the futon, there’s his collection of blankets and snuggies, there’s his desk, there’s his computer, there’s his shelf— his shelf! What could be on his shelf? Kazuaki imagines it. His otaku shelf is the most precious aspect of his entire house. It’s split into some sections— Figures and figurines, then there’s video game CDs, then there’s movie CDs, then there are the stacks of manga, shoujo, shounen, boy’s lo— moving onto the next part is… art zines, zines, magazines, magazi…

“Golden Weekly!!” Kazuaki’s head shot up from the desk.

“Gyah!!” Hitori got so spooked that his hair stood up, “What? I thought you were asleep. What did you say?”

“Tohri Nishikikouji is from Golden Weekly! His name is always on the back of the magazines, so that’s why I didn’t associate them at first!” Kazuaki face palmed, sinking into his seat, “Gah! He’s from Golden Weekly! A shounen manga publisher!”

“…Yeah.” Hitori rose a brow, “That’s what he said at the beginning. Did you just spend half an hour trying to remember it? You could’ve just… asked me, you know.”

Kazuaki lifted one finger off of his eye to stare soberly at the man next to him. His golden eye was so piercing in this lighting that it felt unsettling. “…Are you okay?” Hitori asked softly.

“Oh my god! There’s gonna be someone so cool like that working with us in the school?!” Kazuaki balled his fists, wriggling around in his seat some more, “H-How could I, oh, I’m so shy, so flustered, so scared, but so excited at the same time.”

“…You know the guy?”

“I own a  _ body pillow _ of him!” Kazuaki glared at him with a crazed grin.

“Y-You own a—?” Baffled sounds choked Hitori’s words, “You… But you didn’t remember his  _ name _ ?”

“I have to say hello now!” Kazuaki was practically gleaming, “Since he’s obviously a fellow fan of the modern arts, I feel like I can go up to him and say hello without becoming super embarrassed. Where is he? Where is he?”

Kazuaki glanced through the panorama of the room around him only to find that Tohri Nishikikouji is suddenly absent. The last time Kazuaki looked at the room, he was just over there on his seat, but now it’s empty. “Oh shit, ohh no, did he leave already?! Oh no, I have to catch up to him!” He grabbed his bag even though most of its contents were on the desk.

“Hey, Professor Nanaki, you like cake, right? There’s still some strawberry shortcake that Niwashi brought over there—” A polite co-worker nearly cornered Kazuaki, but he clumsily slid by him and ran towards the door, “I can’t! I have to tell that golden pheasant that he’s my hero〜!!”

The co-worker glanced between the door that opened and slammed shut, and Hitori Uzune, who watched it with equal confusion. “…Well, he seems to be in a better mood than usual.”

Hitori scratched his neck, “He tends to be like that. Flipping between two extreme moods. I’m just wondering why he couldn’t say hello that guy the next time they meet normally, instead of chasing after him”

“A bit of a drama queen?”

“Yeah…” sighed Hitori, “a drama king.”

_ …Ah, didn’t he want to talk with me after the meeting? I guess it wasn’t that important, then… _

* * *

  
  
  


Taking a quick glance at the documents attached to his clipboard, the genius artist Tohri made his way to the building’s main door in a very relaxed and unsuspecting manner. By this point the smugness has finally washed off his face, but he still did not seem to lose any bit of energy.

“…Hmm… Well that went perfectly smooth~ I can immediately tell that none of the birds working here are suspicious about me. As for Isa Souma, he was tragically absent and could not witness my performance… hehehe…” his eye pierced wildly, “He must’ve found out that I’ll be there, and fled in fear… hahaha~ But that’s not a problem, not at all. We’ll surely have plenty of opportunities to duel, now that I’m employed here…”

The sound of impending running became louder and louder behind him. “Huh?”

“NISHIKIKOOOJI—SAAAN〜!!”

Tohri stopped and turned around to see a very pitiful young man run-jog after him, his cheeks flushed pink and little tears pooling his eyes.

The blond finally stopped right in front of a wide-eyed Tohri, bending in his waist to take a breather. “Haah, haah, haah…”

“…Hello, how can I help you, professor…” Tohri pouted a lip in thought, “Ah! I recognize you! You’re the pretty-faced quail that sat in one of the foremost desk rows, right?”

“Yes!” Kazuaki finally stood straight up, pressing a hand to his chest. Tohri took notice of the fact that they’re almost equally as tall, which is interesting, for a button quail. “M-M-My, name, um, my name is Nanaki. Nanaki Kazuaki. I am 2-3’s homeroom teacher.”

“Ah yes, nice to meet you~… So then…?”

A second passes. Kazuaki felt that irritating pink on his face intensify into a more saturated red. He stood up so straight and stiffly, his arm pressing to his side like a terrified highschooler trying to confess his feelings to his crush. “Ah, ahh, um…” oh god, oh god, oh god, it’s impossible to maintain eye contact. He acted too quickly and too brashly. oh god, oh god, his heart is beating so fast that it could jump out of his throat!

“You-You’re working at Golden Weekly, r-right?”

“Why yes, I am!” Tohri curled a long strand of hair around his finger, “In fact, I am the editor-in-chief! Hoho, did you come here to express your love for our manga~?”

“Oh, oh yes, that’s right! I um, I just…

I wanted to say that I’ve been subscribed to Golden Weekly since years… E-Even if you’re not officially the creator of any of the stories, Golden Weekly is very dear to me, and I love so many of the characters…” Tender bashfulness showed through Kazuaki’s voice, “T-There were many times where I was depressed and hated everything about myself, but mangas like  _ The Peacock And The Sparrow _ ,  _ Blue Spring _ , and oh, those manga snippets of  _ Hatocatch PreCoore _ , they have all inspired me to create art and writing of my own…” he shook his head, still making intense eye contact with the floor. “I-I-I mean, I like the shounen releases too~ I like most of the mangas you guys publish~ It’s just that, um, since you’re the editor-in-chief, you have an important role, and you oversee everything that goes into the printed products, so I just wanted to say… Thank you, f-for your service…”

Whether it was intentional or not, Kazuaki reached a level of adorable that made even Tohri’s heart falter. The golden pheasant listened to the teary-eyed quail and was almost brought to tears himself. “Oh, Oh my… Messages like these always mean a lot to me— I mean, the artists! And the writers!” He fanned himself, trying to muster up a boastful aura, “Ahahaha, obviously. Thank you so much for the feedback, Nanaki Kazuaki~”

Kazuaki felt so humbled by this nice treatment from such a beautiful and handsome bird. He was sweaty already, but kept smiling like a good boy. “Y-Yes, that’s all, um, I’m very shocked and happy to be working in the same workplace as Nishikikouji-san

“I’m happy to be working alongside a precious fan~”

Tohri Nishikikouji would usually say a sentence like that out of nothing but courtesy. Obviously he knows what the target demographic of the manga that he publishes is… And when you meet a man in his twenties whose favorite mangas are about highschool romance and childlike character designs, it can either mean two things.

  1. He’s a precious, probably closeted member of LGBT, or…
  2. He is a total pervert that should be kept as far away from society and the likes of Yuki Shirojiro at all costs.



Tohri watched Kazuaki’s body language and personality… and came to the conclusion that Kazuaki is safe. Just look at that gay little scarf!

“Hey, you said that you’re a writer, hm?” Tohri leaned against the wall suavely.

“Ah, yes I am, s-sort of… Literature and poetry are my only skills, that’s why I’m a Japanese and English teacher… But I haven’t, um, published any book or anything like that…”

“Fufufu~”

“ _ Fufufu? _ ”

With a glint in his eye, and the ghost of a smile, Tohri leaned in closer, “How about you show me some of that writing of yours sometime?”

“W-Wha—?”

“You know, Golden Weekly is an anthology that publishes all kinds of products depending on the division… We have not tapped into the novel or poetry market yet, but it’s been in plans. Hey,” he winked, “Since you’re a teacher at this great, prestigious institute, I take that you’re not just any tasteless sap. I can sense an artistic aura radiating off of you, Nanaki. It is…  _ sniff sniff _ … potential!”

Kazuaki’s reaction only prompted Tohri to grin and pamper him some more.

“A-A-A-” Tohri closed his eye in confidence while Kazuaki struggled to stutter out his answer; “Potential? A-Are you serious?!!”

“Of course! I mean, obviously, you can’t submit just any kind of drabble, but I am someone who sees both the exterior and interior at first glance… I can see an entire world inside that fluffy head of yours, that desperately wants to be expressed through a canvas!”

Kazuaki’s eyes rolled into the back of his skull for a second, his knees got weak and he almost tipped over, but oxygen reached his brain at last, “Ahh, ah, ah, oh god, I see stars, I can’t believe this…”

“It’s a wonderful feeling isn’t it~? What a cute quail. Here, have my business card. Contact me whenever, and we’ll see.”

Tohri pressed the card into his weak fingers, meanwhile Kazuaki himself was completely stunned and left with his mouth hanging open. His eyes were open, but he was glaring at the far away universe. “Well then!”

Tohri resumed his walk to the exit, but gave the stunned Kazuaki a little wave. “See you then, Nanaki Kazuaki!”

And Kazuaki slurred out a farewell as well.

And he stood there for what apparently were many minutes, because his spirit only returned to his pale body when he felt a tap on his shoulder—“Nanaki?”

Hitori had a mildly concerned look on his face, “…Are you okay? You left to catch up to Tohri fifteen minutes ago and didn’t return, so I peeked out of the staff room and saw that you’re just standing there, kind of creepy.”

Kazuaki stiffened his shoulders and shook his head rapidly, “Wawawawa!!” he ran a hand through his hair, blinking, “Oh my g…!”

At this point Hitori actually knitted his brows, a crucial signifier that he’s concerned about someone (who isn’t Nageki). “What? What’s wrong? Are you having a stroke? Can you say ‘It’s always sunny in Philadelphia’?”

“ **I’m gonna publish a book!!!** ” Kazuaki’s voice echoed through the entire first floor, and probably reached the second floor as well. He grabbed Hitori by the shoulders—much to his shock and surprise—and grinned at him, fireworks were practically glistening inside his eyes.

“I’m! Gonna! Publish! A book! Uzune-kyuuuun!!! It’s gonna happen! It might happen! I got an opportunity!”

“Ah? Um, congratulations. How did… that happen?”

Kazuaki couldn’t stop grinning. Actually he felt so overtaken by emotion, that tears began showing in his eyes. “I told Nishikikouji-san that I’m a writer, and he was all like,” he did his best impression of the pheasant, “ _ ‘well if you write and you work at this prestigious academy, then you must be good. why not show me some of that writing of yours? fufufu’ _ ” and returned to his own personality, “So we’re gonna set up a meeting one day, and discuss if it’s possible to publish my writing as a physical book! That’s incredible, isn’t it~~?” For the first time in a long while, Kazuaki laughed in relief.

Listening to that and watching his friend radiate such joy, Hitori mustered up a smile as well. “Well that’s very nice of him. Be careful, though. He’s still a stranger. You should wait a while before handing over your art to him.” he sighed, “But it’s not like I have any experience with the… art industry.”

“Yes yes…” The quail held the Golden Weekly business card between his fingers and analyzed it. Deep breaths, Kazuaki. There are still a hundred things that can go wrong, so you shouldn’t get too excited… ever.

“Anyway…” Hitori cleared his throat, and slipped into a more serious mood. “You said that you wanted to talk with me after the meeting, didn’t you?”

A cold breeze seemed to brush past the two men, causing a shiver to crawl up Kazuaki’s arms. He stiffened, became quieter. The silence made Hitori wary.

“You know what…” When Hitori looked up at his face, Kazuaki carried a smile, without breaking eye contact with the card in his hands. “I don’t remember anymore. It probably wasn't anything important~”

Hitori wrinkled his forehead. It’s the same smile that Kazuaki had back then… When they met outside the school, and Kazuaki’s skin was pale from anemia. He’s lying. “Are you sure?”

“I am always very scared during those staff meetings because the room is full of birds, and I’m cripplingly self conscious. I probably meant to ask you if there’s still tea in the pot at the front, because I saw you had some in your mug. But it doesn’t matter anymore~”

It was actually a bit scary when Kazuaki finally looked Hitori in the eyes. That level of dishonesty and uncertainty is something that they’ve gotten used to, back when they were in a relationship. But Kazuaki has always been the one that praised honesty and expressed his feelings truthfully. Hitori never thought that Kazuaki was even capable of hiding his feelings without breaking character immediately.

That calm but obviously staged smile signaled Hitori that something about his friend is off.

Did Kazuaki Nanaki evolve into something new?

The next thing he knew, Kazuaki already went past him, and only tapped him on the shoulder. “I’m gonna go home and work from there~ I need to get my stuff from the staff room, waah…”

Looking at him from behind, Kazuaki still looked the same as always. Maybe it’s just the insomnia—Hitori hasn’t gotten more than an hour of sleep yesterday, and everything today feels louder and more unsettling somehow. He could be just over analyzing a perfectly normal Kazuaki-kun smile.

“…Well wait up, I need to go back as well.”

The door to the staff room slid shut once they both went inside, and the day eventually came to an uneventful end.

**Author's Note:**

> Woah! The awkwardness between Hitori and Kazuaki is really unbearable. Also writing Tohri and Kazuaki's dynamic is so fun, omg. Since I am on a quest to show the Hatoful community the wonders of ShuuKazu (and HiTohri, pst) I also want to spread my propaganda of TohriKazu. They're just too cute.
> 
> And I mean, I've been torturing Kazuaki since the first chapter, so it's about time he finally got some serotonin... I hope you'll enjoy them as much as I do...
> 
> Oh boy I wonder what happens on the Sports Festival~


End file.
